A Conversation for Talking Point: h2g2's move to the BBC
what I think
JK the unwise Started conversation Mar 19, 2001
[This post has been removed due to the fact that the BBC are a bunch of corporate a*** ****s]
Is BBC "corporate" anything?
Deidzoeb Posted Mar 19, 2001
Forgive a foolish Yank, but I was under the impression that BBC is a government institution.
Just what is the BBC exactly? Funded by public money and grants from the govt, but are they a for-profit venture?
Just to clarify, I think many of the new BBC changes to h2g2 qualify them as misguided institutional a** ****s who ought to stop treating our web like it's the old media they started on, radio & tv. But are these people money-hungry vultures, or just uncaring bureaucrats? I have been assuming the latter, and would like to complain some more if there's actually a profit motive involved.
[I hope this post is not removed because I refered to myself as a "Yank." I'm still trying to learn what strange words these BBC people consider vulgar, that Americans would consider babytalk, or quaint terms we hear on Sherlock Holmes movies.]
Is BBC "corporate" anything?
purplejenny Posted Mar 19, 2001
What is the BBC for? Hmm. Damn good question.
State funded, with a very mainstream agenda, they are clearly part of the establishment. In times gone by this was done in a simple, paternalistic authoritarain stylee, but now they have 'youth' television, groovy websites, radio stations etc. They occasionally made good programmes for the tv or radio, and have a fairly massive website. So moderation is not unexpected. You can't say things like f**k untill after 9pm, and then not gratuitously like i did then.
The BBC is funded by the lisence fee, a compulsary tax, a bit like road tax, of about £110 ish per year. Everyone who owns a television must have a lisence, or they can be fined up to £1000. Inspectors occasionally knock on the door of non-payers and check that they don't have a telly.
The BBC also have a 'separate' commercial arm, that makes money by exporting programmes and merchandise, and putting on tatty live tours of their latest kids TV cash-cow.
The prime minister appoints the director general and board of the BBC. The opposition always complain that it is biased against them. The government also claim this when harshly interviewed by BBC journalists.
err... theres more, but I'm sure others will fill you in. There is a really good article about the history of the bbc online, which i found via the guardian.co.uk website, but we aren't allowed to link to potentially unsuitable sites anymore.
purplejenny
h2g2 contains content that is generated by visitors to the site, and the contents of this page may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC, unless specifically stated. *grrrrrrrr* I am not obliged to state the views of the BBC. And how the hell can a corporation have a view about anything* Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites listed. *yes,well, of course not. One of the best bits about the web is the links. Otherwise its just a magazine**
© PJ 2001
Is BBC "corporate" anything?
purplejenny Posted Mar 19, 2001
Having said that, the BBC also is the original home of the guide, and will get the hang of h2g2 soon. The moderators are surely all well intentioned, and want to save us all from the evils of bad language, spam and porn. They have big computers too and have given the guide a home with no major explotiation in mind, probably.
pj
Is BBC "corporate" anything?
Deidzoeb Posted Mar 20, 2001
PJ,
Based on your feelings about those stupid disclaimers, I trust it would not be off-topic if I tried to recruit you into The Zaphodistas, my group for people displeased with BBC's new restrictions on h2g2.
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELE-TUBBIED.
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE PRE-EMPTIVELY MODERATED.
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT NEED A DISCLAIMER.
THE R********N WILL NOT BE HIDDEN BENEATH ASTERISKS.
THE REVOLUTION WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN ALL LANGUAGES.
YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COOKING THE REVOLUTION, BECAUSE IT WILL NOT BE PRE-DIGESTED FOR YOU.
JOIN
THE ZAPHODISTA ARMY OF CYBERNAUTIC LIBERATION.
VIVA ZAPHODA!
Is BBC "corporate" anything?
Deidzoeb Posted Mar 20, 2001
oops. For more info on The Zaphodistas, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A520769
[I'll get the hang of this marketing thing any day now]
what I think
Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) Posted Mar 21, 2001
*** ******* ** **** *** ***** *** ******* ** *** **** * ****** *** ***** **** *** *** *** *** * ***** **** **** ******* ****** *** ** ** **** ***.
that' what i think, but they probally won't print this anyway so i don't know why i'm bothering.
Mr K H Jordan.
what I think
Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) Posted Mar 27, 2001
i know. hilerious arn't i.
what I think
JK the unwise Posted Mar 27, 2001
they dont give a flying f**k what we
think any way so I dont know why Im bovering
what I think
Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) Posted Mar 28, 2001
your right. the only thing thet will make them pay atention is if we all left, and i don't think that's going to happen.
what I think
purplejenny Posted Jan 26, 2002
How peculiar. Did anyone see that before it was squished?
what I think
purplejenny Posted Jan 26, 2002
oh. Thursdays can be a tricky thing I suppose. What sort of thought was it? a bit 
?
what I think
The Theory Posted Jan 26, 2002
It was just the f word repeated, seriously, 2 million times.
peace.
Key: Complain about this post
what I think
- 1: JK the unwise (Mar 19, 2001)
- 2: Deidzoeb (Mar 19, 2001)
- 3: purplejenny (Mar 19, 2001)
- 4: purplejenny (Mar 19, 2001)
- 5: Deidzoeb (Mar 20, 2001)
- 6: Deidzoeb (Mar 20, 2001)
- 7: Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) (Mar 21, 2001)
- 8: JK the unwise (Mar 23, 2001)
- 9: Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) (Mar 27, 2001)
- 10: JK the unwise (Mar 27, 2001)
- 11: Mr K H Jordan. Totally brain washed and incapable of making sense (the BBC has done its work well) (Mar 28, 2001)
- 12: Researcher 188253 (Jan 24, 2002)
- 13: The Theory (Jan 24, 2002)
- 14: ~ jwf ~ scribblo ergo sum (Jan 24, 2002)
- 15: Tonsil Revenge (PG) (Jan 24, 2002)
- 16: ~ jwf ~ scribblo ergo sum (Jan 25, 2002)
- 17: purplejenny (Jan 26, 2002)
- 18: The Theory (Jan 26, 2002)
- 19: purplejenny (Jan 26, 2002)
- 20: The Theory (Jan 26, 2002)
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